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Sticky: Askbox
This post is "Screened", meaning that all comments on this post are private. To send us an ask, please hit "Reply" and post a comment. Anon asks will be answered publicly. Non-anon asks will be answered privately. You can also Message us, or email us at: caprbb at gmail dot com.
EMBEDDING ARTWORK INTO AO3 POSTS
We've put together a quick tutorial on embedding artwork into works posted on AO3.
The first thing to know is that images must already be hosted on an external website in order to be embedded into AO3 posts.
If you're not sure where to host your art, AO3 have put together a guide on suggested posting sources.
STEP 1 - upload your image to your preferred hosting environment
Wherever you end up hosting, you will need a full image URL to embed the art, so watch out for places like Google Drive which may not work as a source for hosting images - it gives a share link, but not the image URL.
The suggested alternatives are Flickr and DeviantART. You can use Tumblr, Twitter, Pillowfort or Facebook (or any other platform where art can be uploaded to share socially) but please note that URLs can change over time or disappear completely which will result in a broken art link, and your embedded art will no longer appear in the post. Tumblr links are especially unpredictable and seem to break for no apparent reason.
AO3 does not recommend Photobucket or Imgur because it's against their Terms of Service to host imagers for embedding elsewhere, but lots of people still use those services. Photobucket will sometimes put a watermark of their logo over your image, or throttle your bandwidth and stop showing the image if your quota is exceeded unless you're on their paid account. Also, if your image is NSFW, they may simply delete it as this is also against their ToS.
You can even use Dropbox and other similar file storage repositories, however, please note that you need a direct image url for embedding to work. Simply copying a url from the browser window isn't enough, and you may need to go searching for this link as it's not always easily accessible.
Examples of links that WILL NOT work for image embedding:
These will not because while the link will direct you to where you can view the image, it's not an image url. An image url will end in one of the following file extensions: .jpg or .png or .gif
Examples of links that WILL work for image embedding:
All of the above will work because they're a direct and complete link to the image you want to embed, and you can tell because the link ends in a file extension: .jpg or .png or .gif
STEP 2 - embed the art in an AO3 post
Once you have your images hosted on an external site, you can use either the Rich Text editor or the HTML editor to embed the images:
Rich Text
Click your cursor on the position you want the art to appear.
Click on the "Insert/edit Image" icon
You will need the full URL, including the file extension at the end. Eg: https://website.com/filename.jpg
Enter the link in "Source"
Enter Image Description if required
Adjust and constrain proportions if required. We suggest constraining proportions and adjusting the max width to 800px so your whole image fits within the AO3 viewing area.
HTML
If you prefer to insert in HTML format, click your cursor on the position you want the art to appear
Insert code as follows: <img src="insert your full url with extension here inside these quotes">
Responsive Images
Have you ever clicked into an AO3 art post on your phone, but the image was so big that you have to scroll every which way to see it all, piece by piece? Have you ever wished that the art would be magically resized to fit your screen so you could view the whole thing, and zoom in if you wanted? Well, wish no more! Here is how to make it happen.
On your AO3 dashboard, click into Skins > My Work Skins > Create Work Skin
Call your Work Skin something like "Responsive Mobile Image Skin"
In the CSS box, paste the following:
And voila!
When your readers click on your AO3 work, the images in your post will be automatically resized to suit their device, whether it's on their desktop, mobile or tablet.
Drop any questions in the comments, we're happy to help!
The first thing to know is that images must already be hosted on an external website in order to be embedded into AO3 posts.
If you're not sure where to host your art, AO3 have put together a guide on suggested posting sources.
STEP 1 - upload your image to your preferred hosting environment
Wherever you end up hosting, you will need a full image URL to embed the art, so watch out for places like Google Drive which may not work as a source for hosting images - it gives a share link, but not the image URL.
The suggested alternatives are Flickr and DeviantART. You can use Tumblr, Twitter, Pillowfort or Facebook (or any other platform where art can be uploaded to share socially) but please note that URLs can change over time or disappear completely which will result in a broken art link, and your embedded art will no longer appear in the post. Tumblr links are especially unpredictable and seem to break for no apparent reason.
AO3 does not recommend Photobucket or Imgur because it's against their Terms of Service to host imagers for embedding elsewhere, but lots of people still use those services. Photobucket will sometimes put a watermark of their logo over your image, or throttle your bandwidth and stop showing the image if your quota is exceeded unless you're on their paid account. Also, if your image is NSFW, they may simply delete it as this is also against their ToS.
You can even use Dropbox and other similar file storage repositories, however, please note that you need a direct image url for embedding to work. Simply copying a url from the browser window isn't enough, and you may need to go searching for this link as it's not always easily accessible.
Examples of links that WILL NOT work for image embedding:
These will not because while the link will direct you to where you can view the image, it's not an image url. An image url will end in one of the following file extensions: .jpg or .png or .gif
Examples of links that WILL work for image embedding:
All of the above will work because they're a direct and complete link to the image you want to embed, and you can tell because the link ends in a file extension: .jpg or .png or .gif
STEP 2 - embed the art in an AO3 post
Once you have your images hosted on an external site, you can use either the Rich Text editor or the HTML editor to embed the images:
Rich Text
Click your cursor on the position you want the art to appear.
Click on the "Insert/edit Image" icon
You will need the full URL, including the file extension at the end. Eg: https://website.com/filename.jpg
Enter the link in "Source"
Enter Image Description if required
Adjust and constrain proportions if required. We suggest constraining proportions and adjusting the max width to 800px so your whole image fits within the AO3 viewing area.
HTML
If you prefer to insert in HTML format, click your cursor on the position you want the art to appear
Insert code as follows: <img src="insert your full url with extension here inside these quotes">
Responsive Images
Have you ever clicked into an AO3 art post on your phone, but the image was so big that you have to scroll every which way to see it all, piece by piece? Have you ever wished that the art would be magically resized to fit your screen so you could view the whole thing, and zoom in if you wanted? Well, wish no more! Here is how to make it happen.
On your AO3 dashboard, click into Skins > My Work Skins > Create Work Skin
Call your Work Skin something like "Responsive Mobile Image Skin"
In the CSS box, paste the following:
#workskin img {
max-width: 90%;
height: auto;
}
Save your skin!
Next time you're creating an AO3 work with art embedded in it, select your work skin from the drop down, like so:
Save your skin!
Next time you're creating an AO3 work with art embedded in it, select your work skin from the drop down, like so:
And voila!
When your readers click on your AO3 work, the images in your post will be automatically resized to suit their device, whether it's on their desktop, mobile or tablet.
Drop any questions in the comments, we're happy to help!
CapRBB Discord Rules
This challenge is open to all genres and all pairings from the Captain America canons, including Marvel comics or the MCU. Crossovers and fusions are permitted.
The CapRBB Discord acts as an additional way for the Mods to communicate with and provide immediate support to CapRBB participants (outside of email) during a time that is traditionally very solo for the creators in a Big Bang. It is an opt-in experience. All mod communications to the participants of the challenge will be sent via email, with Slack acting as the support platform for participants.
The CapRBB Discord is an optional fan space, and falls under general fandom social norms. It is a platform where users can DM with their collaboration partner, and it also has open chat channels. Although it has a designated SFW channel, most users are active in the other channels where they can reasonably expect to encounter NSFW content. There are a number of locked channels available to 2019 participants only.
The basic rules are:
Don’t be a dick
No slurs of any kind
No discourse of any kind
No trolling, harrassment or doxxing
No shipshaming, character bashing, or kinkshaming
No badmouthing your artist, author, beta or fellow participants
Breaking these rules will result in immediate removal from the CapRBB Discord, and possible ejection from CapRBB.
Please respect each other and the all-inclusive tone of the challenge. If a conversation topic makes you uncomfortable, moderate your own experience by leaving temporarily until the topic has moved on or alert the mods if the nature of the conversation breaks one of the above rules. We trust users will conduct themselves in an appropriate fashion, with mods only intervening when the conversations get contentious.
Please contact one of the mods if you are involved in a conflict or if you see a discussion heading towards conflict. We’re here to help.
Please keep in mind that Discord is a Choose Not To Warn experience, although observing the AO3 warning policy (Rape/Non-con, Underage, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death) will be appreciated. Proceed with caution if you have triggers or strong squicks for certain types of content.
Please use reasonable judgment when sharing explicit or extreme content.
The CapRBB Discord acts as an additional way for the Mods to communicate with and provide immediate support to CapRBB participants (outside of email) during a time that is traditionally very solo for the creators in a Big Bang. It is an opt-in experience. All mod communications to the participants of the challenge will be sent via email, with Slack acting as the support platform for participants.
The CapRBB Discord is an optional fan space, and falls under general fandom social norms. It is a platform where users can DM with their collaboration partner, and it also has open chat channels. Although it has a designated SFW channel, most users are active in the other channels where they can reasonably expect to encounter NSFW content. There are a number of locked channels available to 2019 participants only.
The basic rules are:
Breaking these rules will result in immediate removal from the CapRBB Discord, and possible ejection from CapRBB.
Please respect each other and the all-inclusive tone of the challenge. If a conversation topic makes you uncomfortable, moderate your own experience by leaving temporarily until the topic has moved on or alert the mods if the nature of the conversation breaks one of the above rules. We trust users will conduct themselves in an appropriate fashion, with mods only intervening when the conversations get contentious.
Please contact one of the mods if you are involved in a conflict or if you see a discussion heading towards conflict. We’re here to help.
Please keep in mind that Discord is a Choose Not To Warn experience, although observing the AO3 warning policy (Rape/Non-con, Underage, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Major Character Death) will be appreciated. Proceed with caution if you have triggers or strong squicks for certain types of content.
Please use reasonable judgment when sharing explicit or extreme content.
CapRBB Masterpost Info (2019)
Posting Day Checklist:
1) Post your completed art/fic collaboration to AO3
2) Add it to our AO3 collection
3) Create and post your Masterpost to Tumblr
4) Submit your Masterpost Information Form
Please choose one of the below options to post your Author/Artist big bang collaboration:
If you are posting a chaptered fic and want to space the chapters out over several days, your story must finish posting on your chosen posting date. This means that you will need to start posting earlier so that you’re done on your posting date. Posting cannot begin before May 19th.
We also created a handy guide about posting to AO3 with embedded images which you can see here.
Only completed works will be added to the collection. WIPs and works under 5K will be rejected from the collection. If you're posting a chaptered work, please ensure that you post your final chapter before adding the work to the collection.
The 2019 AO3 collection is here.
Important tip: if you have created a draft of your fic before posting, please make sure that you change the date to your posting date before you click Post, otherwise your posting date will be the date you created your draft and you will not be posting to the top of the feed.
In the past, we required the participants to create a Tumblr masterpost for us to reblog. This year we are also creating a Dreamwidth masterpost on your behalf. We are doing this because Tumblr posts may be hidden at Tumblr's discretion at any time. To circumvent this stupidity, all masterposts will be duped to DW this year so that we can retain a complete record of all the collaborations produced in the bang.
Dreamwidth: The Mods will be making the masterpost in our![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
caprbb community. We will put this together from the information you supply in your Masterpost Information Form.
Tumblr: If you choose to create a Tumblr masterpost (we understand that some participants may not wish to post to Tumblr), we will reblog it. It does not matter if the Author or the Artist posts the masterpost.
Here are some examples of past Tumblr masterposts which can be used as a reference.
Story Banner Banner can be a SFW crop of the artwork by itself, a whole SFW art piece if the artist is posting the masterpost, or an actual story banner made up of a crop of the art which includes fic title, author, artist. For Tumblr, the suggested image size for dashboard view is 540 x 810px. Suggested width for DW: 800-1200px, but we suggest keeping it to a max 1000 width. A banner saved at 540px high x 800px wide will work o both.
Optional crossposting: If you are posting your collaboration information on platforms other than DW or Tumblr, please make sure to link to your AO3 post, your Tumblr masterpost if you chose to make one, and thecaprbb community (http://caprbb.dreamwidth.org). This is because some platforms, such as FFn, don't allow art to be embedded, and this is a collaboration after all!
Approximately 1-2 weeks before your confirmed posting date (so it's fresh in your mind and not lost in your inbox), we will be emailing you a link to the Masterpost Information Form. The information you provide will assist us in creating the Dreamwidth masterpost and to create a sortable spreadsheet to help readers find collaborations more easily. Please submit the Masterpost Information Form ASAP to ensure the masterpost goes up on time, and that your information is added to the sortable spreadsheet.
1) Post your completed art/fic collaboration to AO3
2) Add it to our AO3 collection
3) Create and post your Masterpost to Tumblr
4) Submit your Masterpost Information Form
1) Posting to AO3
Please choose one of the below options to post your Author/Artist big bang collaboration:
“Co-Creators”: Creating a single AO3 work with both the Author and Artist listed as Co-Creators, with the artwork embedded into the story. See our handy embedding guide here.
“Inspired By”: The Artist creates an AO3 work for their artwork, and the Author posts their fic to AO3 as a work inspired by another work. This is a good option if your team prefers not to embed the artwork into the story
“Gift”: The Author creates an AO3 work, gifts the work to the Artist 's AO3 handle and either embeds the artwork or includes a link to wherever the artist has chosen to post their artwork (eg: Twitter, Tumblr, Dreamwidth, Pillowfort, etc)
If you are posting a chaptered fic and want to space the chapters out over several days, your story must finish posting on your chosen posting date. This means that you will need to start posting earlier so that you’re done on your posting date. Posting cannot begin before May 19th.
We also created a handy guide about posting to AO3 with embedded images which you can see here.
2) Adding your work to the AO3 collection
Only completed works will be added to the collection. WIPs and works under 5K will be rejected from the collection. If you're posting a chaptered work, please ensure that you post your final chapter before adding the work to the collection.
The 2019 AO3 collection is here.
Important tip: if you have created a draft of your fic before posting, please make sure that you change the date to your posting date before you click Post, otherwise your posting date will be the date you created your draft and you will not be posting to the top of the feed.
3) Creating the Masterpost
In the past, we required the participants to create a Tumblr masterpost for us to reblog. This year we are also creating a Dreamwidth masterpost on your behalf. We are doing this because Tumblr posts may be hidden at Tumblr's discretion at any time. To circumvent this stupidity, all masterposts will be duped to DW this year so that we can retain a complete record of all the collaborations produced in the bang.
Dreamwidth: The Mods will be making the masterpost in our
caprbb community. We will put this together from the information you supply in your Masterpost Information Form. Tumblr: If you choose to create a Tumblr masterpost (we understand that some participants may not wish to post to Tumblr), we will reblog it. It does not matter if the Author or the Artist posts the masterpost.
Here are some examples of past Tumblr masterposts which can be used as a reference.
Your Tumblr masterpost should include:Tagging: Only the first 5 tags are searchable on Tumblr so we use those wisely!
- A SFW crop of the artwork, or a story banner (note: Whole art pieces should only be included if the artist is posting the masterpost and if the art is SFW)
- Fic title and AO3 link
- Link to the artwork if posted separately
- Links to Author’s and Artist’s fandom accounts (DW, tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc)
- Any crosspost links to non-DW platforms
- Fic and Artwork Rating (G/PG/M/NC-17)
- Warnings (As per AO3 guidelines, please warn for graphic violence, underage, non-con or major character death) and use any other relevant tags as you see fit
- Relationships
- Characters
- Word count
- A blurb or story summary
Story Banner Banner can be a SFW crop of the artwork by itself, a whole SFW art piece if the artist is posting the masterpost, or an actual story banner made up of a crop of the art which includes fic title, author, artist. For Tumblr, the suggested image size for dashboard view is 540 x 810px. Suggested width for DW: 800-1200px, but we suggest keeping it to a max 1000 width. A banner saved at 540px high x 800px wide will work o both.
Optional crossposting: If you are posting your collaboration information on platforms other than DW or Tumblr, please make sure to link to your AO3 post, your Tumblr masterpost if you chose to make one, and the
caprbb community (http://caprbb.dreamwidth.org). This is because some platforms, such as FFn, don't allow art to be embedded, and this is a collaboration after all! 4) Masterpost Info Form
Approximately 1-2 weeks before your confirmed posting date (so it's fresh in your mind and not lost in your inbox), we will be emailing you a link to the Masterpost Information Form. The information you provide will assist us in creating the Dreamwidth masterpost and to create a sortable spreadsheet to help readers find collaborations more easily. Please submit the Masterpost Information Form ASAP to ensure the masterpost goes up on time, and that your information is added to the sortable spreadsheet.
CapRBB Claims (2019)
CLAIMS WILL OPEN AT 7PM PST SATURDAY MARCH 2ND. [what time is that for me?]
CLAIMS DATE AND TIME ARE NOT NEGOTIABLE.
Revealing the Art Preview Document
The Art Preview Document will be a Google Slides PPT that is shared with all signed-up participants.
Here’s what the Preview Document will look like:
(imagine beautiful art where those blue rectangles are!)
On the left are the thumbnails of each slide, which will allow authors to scroll through quickly. On the right is the selected slide, which will include the art, notes from the artist indicating preferences such as ships and maturity rating. On the bottom is an imgur link to see the artwork at full resolution.
Notes:
NSFW submissions will be shown as a crop, with a link to see the full NSFW image.
The order will be randomized. We will not be sorting by ships or medium. We are open to all ships and encourage authors to use their discretion to scroll past entries which are not of interest to them. (See fuller explanation here)
We encourage authors to look through the previews doc and make a list of artworks they would be interested in writing for, and rank them in order of preference. Authors will be claiming the artworks by their assigned number, so instead of “that cute prewar Stucky one”, please write down the slide number instead.
It’s against both the rules and the spirit of the challenge to work with another participant prior to claims or to try and influence claims, or to try and influence other participants regarding claims in order to discourage others from claiming the art piece you are interested in. If we become aware of this behaviour, we may ask you to leave the challenge.
Claiming
The claims form will be emailed to all claiming authors. Here’s what the claims form will look like:
After being prompted for their email and username, authors will be asked to list their top art choices by slide number. Please don’t write “the mermaid AU one”, we won’t know what that is! The number is listed at the top left of each slide.
Authors will be asked to list at least 5 choices, but there will be space to list up to 10. When preparing for claims, we suggest making a list of 15, just in case. All claims entries are timestamped to ensure fairness in our first come, first served process.
Proxies:
If you are unable to be present when claims open and are concerned that you may miss out on your preferred art, please ask a proxy to submit a claim on your behalf. You can forward them the links to the claims form, and give them a list of your preferences so they can claim on your behalf. They simply need to enter your username and email information on the form. (Note: if you are worried you won't get your top 10, please ask your proxy to submit a second time with your other preferences)
If you are unable to find a proxy, we can find one for you. Email us for more information about proxy claiming or to organise a proxy to claim on your behalf.
How will I know which ones have already been claimed?
We will be working hard keeping the preview doc updated and claimed pieces will be obscured with a gray box as soon as they are allocated to an author:
How will I know which of my preferences I’ve claimed?
After clicking “Submit” on their claims form, authors can go to the Claims Spreadsheet (link to be emailed to authors) and watch the claims happen in real time! We will be moving row-by-row down the spreadsheet, highlighting the first of each author’s preferences that hasn’t yet been claimed. We will also email a confirmation.
What if all of my choices have been claimed? Can I resubmit?
We will send an email asking for a re-submission which will be given priority at the time it is received. Feel free to also submit before receiving that email.
What happens if there is unclaimed art?
Firstly, artists are free to remove unclaimed art from the RBB. Some artists who are submitting several pieces might choose to post their unclaimed art independently instead of waiting for a delayed claim. We will also be asking any signed-up authors who have not made a claim and anyone signed up as a pinch-hitter to view the unclaimed art and see if there is anything they’d like to write for. We will do our best to ensure every art finds an author.
What happens if there are more authors than artworks?
We will only be holding one round of claims, with one author claiming only one art piece. Authors who are unable to make a claim during this time, will be encouraged to sign up to pinch-hit instead.
CLAIMS DATE AND TIME ARE NOT NEGOTIABLE.
Revealing the Art Preview Document
The Art Preview Document will be a Google Slides PPT that is shared with all signed-up participants.
Here’s what the Preview Document will look like:
(imagine beautiful art where those blue rectangles are!)
On the left are the thumbnails of each slide, which will allow authors to scroll through quickly. On the right is the selected slide, which will include the art, notes from the artist indicating preferences such as ships and maturity rating. On the bottom is an imgur link to see the artwork at full resolution.
Notes:
We encourage authors to look through the previews doc and make a list of artworks they would be interested in writing for, and rank them in order of preference. Authors will be claiming the artworks by their assigned number, so instead of “that cute prewar Stucky one”, please write down the slide number instead.
It’s against both the rules and the spirit of the challenge to work with another participant prior to claims or to try and influence claims, or to try and influence other participants regarding claims in order to discourage others from claiming the art piece you are interested in. If we become aware of this behaviour, we may ask you to leave the challenge.
Claiming
The claims form will be emailed to all claiming authors. Here’s what the claims form will look like:
After being prompted for their email and username, authors will be asked to list their top art choices by slide number. Please don’t write “the mermaid AU one”, we won’t know what that is! The number is listed at the top left of each slide.
Authors will be asked to list at least 5 choices, but there will be space to list up to 10. When preparing for claims, we suggest making a list of 15, just in case. All claims entries are timestamped to ensure fairness in our first come, first served process.
Proxies:
If you are unable to be present when claims open and are concerned that you may miss out on your preferred art, please ask a proxy to submit a claim on your behalf. You can forward them the links to the claims form, and give them a list of your preferences so they can claim on your behalf. They simply need to enter your username and email information on the form. (Note: if you are worried you won't get your top 10, please ask your proxy to submit a second time with your other preferences)
If you are unable to find a proxy, we can find one for you. Email us for more information about proxy claiming or to organise a proxy to claim on your behalf.
How will I know which ones have already been claimed?
We will be working hard keeping the preview doc updated and claimed pieces will be obscured with a gray box as soon as they are allocated to an author:
How will I know which of my preferences I’ve claimed?
After clicking “Submit” on their claims form, authors can go to the Claims Spreadsheet (link to be emailed to authors) and watch the claims happen in real time! We will be moving row-by-row down the spreadsheet, highlighting the first of each author’s preferences that hasn’t yet been claimed. We will also email a confirmation.
What if all of my choices have been claimed? Can I resubmit?
We will send an email asking for a re-submission which will be given priority at the time it is received. Feel free to also submit before receiving that email.
What happens if there is unclaimed art?
Firstly, artists are free to remove unclaimed art from the RBB. Some artists who are submitting several pieces might choose to post their unclaimed art independently instead of waiting for a delayed claim. We will also be asking any signed-up authors who have not made a claim and anyone signed up as a pinch-hitter to view the unclaimed art and see if there is anything they’d like to write for. We will do our best to ensure every art finds an author.
What happens if there are more authors than artworks?
We will only be holding one round of claims, with one author claiming only one art piece. Authors who are unable to make a claim during this time, will be encouraged to sign up to pinch-hit instead.
Art Submissions
ART SUBMISSIONS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED AND WILL REOPEN IN JANUARY 2020
Art Requirements:
Art Submission:
Submissions must be emailed to the mods at caprbb at gmail dot com.
Please put “Art Submission from [username]” in the subject line of your email, along with the following information in the body of your email:
Artist username: [please ensure it's the one you signed up with]
Preferred profile url: [AO3, Dreamwidth, Twitter, Tumblr, etc]
Art number: [1, 2, 3, or 4 - you may submit up to 4 separate art pieces for claims]
Art title: [optional]
Art Rating: [G / PG / M / NC-17]
Suggested pairing(s) if any:
Desired fic rating(s): [G / PG / M / NC-17 - you may choose which rating you are most comfortable with receiving for your art]
Desired collaboration level(s): [free rein / brainstorming / cheerleading / beta-ing] (how involved do you want to be? Do you want to be included in the whole process, or would you prefer to submit your art and leave the author to it? Please note that no matter what level you choose, this challenge is a collaboration between artist and author. You will be expected to support your collaboration partner with positive reinforcement while they write a story for your art. At the end of the process, you will be expected to create a banner for the collaboration and be available for decision-making regarding posting, etc)
Preferred communication method(s): [email / tumblr / dreamwidth / twitter / discord / other: ] (please choose the one where you are most accessible and which you check often, and list your username/url there)
Additional details/requests: [optional. Use this to inspire the authors! If you have any Do-Not-Wants or Must-Haves, please put them here as well.] Additional Details examples:
Optional: Please attach a 400 x 400px square crop of an art piece you’ve made previously. This doesn’t have to be fandom related - any piece of art you’d like to share is fine. If you’ve posted it somewhere, please supply the url of the post. This art crop will be included in one of our Artist Spotlight posts.
Art Requirements:
- Art must be new, created specifically for this challenge and not previously posted
- Art must be unsigned to support our anonymous claims process
- Art can be drawn or painted 2D artwork (both traditional and digital), comics, digital manips, gifsets, image edits, fanmixes and fanvids
- 3D artwork and craft is welcome as long as the final piece can be photographed and submitted to us via email as an image
- Art can feature any character or pairing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Marvel Comics
- Only artists who are over 18 may submit M or NC-17 pieces and request M or NC-17 stories
- By submitting an M or NC-17 work to this challenge, you are confirming that you are over 18 and legally able to do so
- Artists may submit up to four separate pieces to be claimed separately by four different authors
- If submitting multiple pieces, only one WIP submission per artist is allowed (eg: if submitting 4 pieces, 3 must be 100% complete and only 1 may be a WIP)
- Any WIPs submitted must be at least 75% complete with all major details, concepts and ideas clearly visible, and giving a solid idea of the expected finished style so authors can make an informed choice at claims
- Fanmixes must contain at least 8 tracks as well as front and back cover art (minimum size 500 x 500px). Fanmixes must be 100% complete for submission. A download link must be included with your fanmix submission (it will be held until claims and then sent to the author who has claimed it)
- Digital manips must contain significant alteration from the original images so as to create a new composition.
- Gifsets or image edits must show demonstrable effort to create a new creative treatment: either manipulation that blends and integrates several different sources, or a carefully curated and assembled theme or idea
- Fanvids must be at least one minute in length
Art Submission:
Submissions must be emailed to the mods at caprbb at gmail dot com.
Please put “Art Submission from [username]” in the subject line of your email, along with the following information in the body of your email:
Artist username: [please ensure it's the one you signed up with]
Preferred profile url: [AO3, Dreamwidth, Twitter, Tumblr, etc]
Art number: [1, 2, 3, or 4 - you may submit up to 4 separate art pieces for claims]
Art title: [optional]
Art Rating: [G / PG / M / NC-17]
Suggested pairing(s) if any:
Desired fic rating(s): [G / PG / M / NC-17 - you may choose which rating you are most comfortable with receiving for your art]
Desired collaboration level(s): [free rein / brainstorming / cheerleading / beta-ing] (how involved do you want to be? Do you want to be included in the whole process, or would you prefer to submit your art and leave the author to it? Please note that no matter what level you choose, this challenge is a collaboration between artist and author. You will be expected to support your collaboration partner with positive reinforcement while they write a story for your art. At the end of the process, you will be expected to create a banner for the collaboration and be available for decision-making regarding posting, etc)
Preferred communication method(s): [email / tumblr / dreamwidth / twitter / discord / other: ] (please choose the one where you are most accessible and which you check often, and list your username/url there)
Additional details/requests: [optional. Use this to inspire the authors! If you have any Do-Not-Wants or Must-Haves, please put them here as well.] Additional Details examples:
- “Would love something angsty with a happy ending. I’ve got some headcanons and would love to brainstorm ideas with the claiming author.”
- “I’d like the fic to be focused on Steve’s angst and not anyone else’s. Aside from that, I don’t care who you pair Steve up with (if anyone). Surprise me!”
- “When I drew this, I imagined Steve to have just got out of a fight, but maybe you have another reason why he’s like that in the picture. :)”
- "I don’t want to have any input into the story, have fun!"
Optional: Please attach a 400 x 400px square crop of an art piece you’ve made previously. This doesn’t have to be fandom related - any piece of art you’d like to share is fine. If you’ve posted it somewhere, please supply the url of the post. This art crop will be included in one of our Artist Spotlight posts.
Sign-Up Forms
SIGN-UPS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED AND WILL REOPEN IN JANUARY 2020
Sign up as an Artist
Is there a AU or headcanon you'd love to see explored in fic? A fix-it you're desperately craving? Create a piece of art and inspire a story!
- Art must be new, created specifically for this challenge and not previously posted
- Art can be drawn or painted 2D artwork (both traditional and digital), comics, digital manips, gifsets, image edits, fanmixes and fanvids.
- 3D artwork and craft is welcome as long as the final piece can be photographed and submitted to us via email as an image.
- Art can feature any character or pairing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Marvel Comics
- Only artists who are over 18 may submit M or NC-17 pieces and request M or NC-17 stories.
- By submitting an M or NC-17 work to this challenge, you are confirming that you are over 18 and legally able to do so.
- Artists may submit up to four separate pieces to be claimed separately by four different authors
- If submitting multiple pieces, only one WIP submission per artist is allowed (eg: if submitting 4 pieces, 3 must be 100% complete and only 1 may be a WIP)
- Any WIPs submitted must be at least 75% complete with all major details, concepts and ideas clearly visible, and giving a solid idea of the expected finished style
Sign up as an Author
After claiming takes place, authors will have approximately 8-10 weeks to write a story based on the art they hav
- Stories must be new, created specifically for this challenge and not previously posted
- Stories must be based on or inspired by the art claimed
- If there is a pairing specifically shown or requested in the art claimed, then that is the pairing you are agreeing to write for
- Story must be a minimum of 5,000 words. There is no maximum word count
- Only participants who are over 18 may claim M or NC-17 artworks. By claiming an M or NC-17 artwork, you are confirming that you are over 18 and legally able to do so.
- Stories must be beta-read. Beta readers do not have to be bang participants. Authors may find their own beta readers among friends or mutuals
- Dropping out after claiming an art piece will result in a 1 year ban at the Mods' discretion
- Dropping out after the fic deadline will result in a permanent ban at the Mods' discretion
Sign up as a Pinch-hitter
If an author drops out partway through the challenge, pinch-hitters may be called upon to write a story at short notice.
- Pinch-hitter sign-ups will remain open for the duration of the challenge
- You do not have to sign up as an artist or author in the challenge to become a pinch-hitter
- Pinch-hitters can specify pairings, characters or ratings they are/are not willing to write for
- Sign-ups are no-obligation, and will be used to compile a pool of potential pinch-hitters
- Pinch-hits will be emailed out to the pool of potential pinch-hitters and allocated on a first come, first served basis
Sign up as a Beta Reader
Every story submitted to the challenge must be beta read. Beta requests are expected to start rolling in around late March, when participants have claimed a piece of art and begun working on their stories.
- Beta sign-ups will remain open for the duration of the challenge
- You do not have to sign up as an artist or author in the challenge to become a beta reader
- Sign-ups are no obligation, and will be used to compile a pool of potential beta readers
- Beta requests will be compiled into a list and emailed out to the pool of potential beta readers on a weekly basis. It will then be up to interested beta readers to decide if they can assist any of the authors, and to contact the author directly.
FAQ
What is a Reverse Big Bang?
It's a Big Bang in reverse. Instead of artists claiming story summaries to illustrate, authors claim art prompts to write a fic about them.
Which characters and pairings are eligible in this bang?
Any and all Marvel comics and MCU characters are eligible.
Crossovers with other fandoms are also permitted.
Because this challenge is open to and inclusive of all Marvel and MCU characters and ships, we would like to remind all participants that absolutely no shipshaming or kinkshaming will be tolerated. Please respect each other and the all-inclusive tone of the challenge.
Is this bang 18+ only?
No, all participants are welcome, regardless of their age.
However, only artists who are 18 and over may submit M or NC-17 works to the bang or request M or NC-17 stories to be written for their art, and only authors who are 18 and over may claim M or NC-17 artwork to write for.
By submitting or claiming an M or NC-17 work, you are confirming that you are over 18 and legally able to do so.
Can I submit art I made and posted previously?
Nope! Anything submitted for this bang must be made new and created specifically for this bang.
Can I use my RBB entry to fill a Bingo square?
As long as you obey our challenge's rules first and foremost, and as long your collaboration partner (your artist or your author) is OK with that, and you post your work on your posting date (and not earlier to fulfil a Bingo challenge rules) we are OK with it. Don't assume though, always ask! This bang is a collaborative event so decisions about the works must be made by both of you.
Why does art need to be submitted unsigned?
People know what my style looks like anyway.
It's all about having an even playing field for claims, where art is presented on the same footing. Your style may be known, but it won't be known by everyone who participates, and claims are done this way in the interest of fairness.
What are the new ban rules about? That wasn't there before!
That's right, we are introducing temporary and permanent bans under some circumstances.
In the past, there haven't been any penalties for dropping out because we understand that sometimes people take on a little more than they thought and life isn't always conducive to being creative or spending time on our hobbies, despite our best intention.
However, we have had an increase in drops that are occurring later and later in the challenge, and even ghosting, leaving the other participant hanging and the Mods scrambling.
We are trialing these penalties in an effort to ensure that participants give serious consideration about joining right from the start.
The word minimum is only 5K, and we feel that 8-10 weeks is more than sufficient to achieve this goal.
The following will apply to both artists and authors:
Dropping out after claims will incur a 1 year ban, at the Mods' discretion.
Dropping out after the May deadline will incur a permanent ban, at the Mods' discretion.
Extensions will be granted at the Mods' discretion only, and will be a maximum of 2 weeks. Only one extension will be given to each author.
How is it possible for an artist to drop? They've already made the art!
Artists are required to be an active partner in the collaboration, from beginning to end. Even if your desired level of participation is the bare minimum, you are still required to be available for your writing partner for queries and concerns, and also, at the end of the bang, to create a banner for your Masterpost. They've written a fic for your art! The least you could do would be to help promote it by making a banner and sharing it on your social platforms, and reading it to show your support.
Under no circumstances should you ghost the author or the Mods when they try to contact you, or make us chase you for the banner for the Masterpost. If there is a problem, talk to us about it. Ghosting is bad and makes people feel bad. Don't do ghosting.
So it's not just a Cap bang anymore? What does that mean?
We still love Cap, and it's still a Cap bang, but we are removing character and pairing restrictions. We hate having to turn away beautiful Loki/Thor or GoTG art just because those characters were not included in the Cap canons, so we're removing restrictions, ensuring that artists can submit any Marvel character or ship they want.
Why didn't you just do that from the start?
When we launched this bang in 2017, there were already Marvel RBB, Avengers RBB and even MCU RBB communities. None of them had been active in the recent past, but it still felt wrong to take over their names or function, so we devised the Cap bang - our own way to get a reversebang in our fandom. After 3 years of continuing absence of activity from those other communities, we figured it was OK to expand to include all the aspects of Marvel and MCU, and not be limited only to the Cap fandom.
How will art claims work?
Art will be presented in a slide document for authors' perusal. Each piece will be numbered and accompanied by additional information supplied by artists so authors will have plenty of time to peruse and choose their preferences.
Claims will open at a designated, non-negotiable time. Claims will be allocated first in, first served basis, with authors lodging timestamped claim forms. Claims will be allocated with the highest available preference at the time of the form lodgement.
It’s against both the rules and the spirit of the challenge to work with another participant prior to claims or to try and influence claims, or to try and influence other participants regarding claims in order to discourage others from claiming the art piece you are interested in. If we become aware of this behaviour, we may ask you to leave the challenge.
Can I claim more than one art piece?
No, only one claim is allowed per author.
How many rounds of claims are there?
Only one. We encourage authors who miss out on claims to sign up as pinch-hitters instead.
Can artists make more art for their author after claims?
Absolutely! There is no obligation for your artist to create additional art unless they wish to, but they certainly can if they want!
How does posting work?
Each author/artist team will be asked to nominate their preferred posting date, which will be their final deadline. Each team of author/artist is required to post on their assigned date to the platform of their choice. You can post any time on that date in your timezone.
The reason we have posting dates is so that we don't flood the fandom with 200 works at the same time. It's also our way of ensuring that only a few entries are posted per day, ensuring each collaboration is acknowledged and recognised, and that nobody gets lost in a big flood of fic and art.
It's also a way for the Mods to keep tabs on who is meant to be posting when, so if posting doesn't occur, we are prompted to come and look for you to see if you need assistance.
After posting your work to our AO3 collection and sharing it on your preferred social platforms, you will be asked to submit a Masterpost Information Form.
The info you give us will be used to create a Masterpost here on our comm, and also on Twitter. You are welcome to create a Tumblr masterpost yourselves - if you do, we will reblog it.
See Masterpost Info for more details.
I have another question!
Please email the Mods on caprbb at gmail dot com or by send us an Ask.
The Ask Box is screened so all answers will be private.
Thank you, the Mods
It's a Big Bang in reverse. Instead of artists claiming story summaries to illustrate, authors claim art prompts to write a fic about them.
Which characters and pairings are eligible in this bang?
Any and all Marvel comics and MCU characters are eligible.
Crossovers with other fandoms are also permitted.
Because this challenge is open to and inclusive of all Marvel and MCU characters and ships, we would like to remind all participants that absolutely no shipshaming or kinkshaming will be tolerated. Please respect each other and the all-inclusive tone of the challenge.
Is this bang 18+ only?
No, all participants are welcome, regardless of their age.
However, only artists who are 18 and over may submit M or NC-17 works to the bang or request M or NC-17 stories to be written for their art, and only authors who are 18 and over may claim M or NC-17 artwork to write for.
By submitting or claiming an M or NC-17 work, you are confirming that you are over 18 and legally able to do so.
Can I submit art I made and posted previously?
Nope! Anything submitted for this bang must be made new and created specifically for this bang.
Can I use my RBB entry to fill a Bingo square?
As long as you obey our challenge's rules first and foremost, and as long your collaboration partner (your artist or your author) is OK with that, and you post your work on your posting date (and not earlier to fulfil a Bingo challenge rules) we are OK with it. Don't assume though, always ask! This bang is a collaborative event so decisions about the works must be made by both of you.
Why does art need to be submitted unsigned?
People know what my style looks like anyway.
It's all about having an even playing field for claims, where art is presented on the same footing. Your style may be known, but it won't be known by everyone who participates, and claims are done this way in the interest of fairness.
What are the new ban rules about? That wasn't there before!
That's right, we are introducing temporary and permanent bans under some circumstances.
In the past, there haven't been any penalties for dropping out because we understand that sometimes people take on a little more than they thought and life isn't always conducive to being creative or spending time on our hobbies, despite our best intention.
However, we have had an increase in drops that are occurring later and later in the challenge, and even ghosting, leaving the other participant hanging and the Mods scrambling.
We are trialing these penalties in an effort to ensure that participants give serious consideration about joining right from the start.
The word minimum is only 5K, and we feel that 8-10 weeks is more than sufficient to achieve this goal.
The following will apply to both artists and authors:
Dropping out after claims will incur a 1 year ban, at the Mods' discretion.
Dropping out after the May deadline will incur a permanent ban, at the Mods' discretion.
Extensions will be granted at the Mods' discretion only, and will be a maximum of 2 weeks. Only one extension will be given to each author.
How is it possible for an artist to drop? They've already made the art!
Artists are required to be an active partner in the collaboration, from beginning to end. Even if your desired level of participation is the bare minimum, you are still required to be available for your writing partner for queries and concerns, and also, at the end of the bang, to create a banner for your Masterpost. They've written a fic for your art! The least you could do would be to help promote it by making a banner and sharing it on your social platforms, and reading it to show your support.
Under no circumstances should you ghost the author or the Mods when they try to contact you, or make us chase you for the banner for the Masterpost. If there is a problem, talk to us about it. Ghosting is bad and makes people feel bad. Don't do ghosting.
So it's not just a Cap bang anymore? What does that mean?
We still love Cap, and it's still a Cap bang, but we are removing character and pairing restrictions. We hate having to turn away beautiful Loki/Thor or GoTG art just because those characters were not included in the Cap canons, so we're removing restrictions, ensuring that artists can submit any Marvel character or ship they want.
Why didn't you just do that from the start?
When we launched this bang in 2017, there were already Marvel RBB, Avengers RBB and even MCU RBB communities. None of them had been active in the recent past, but it still felt wrong to take over their names or function, so we devised the Cap bang - our own way to get a reversebang in our fandom. After 3 years of continuing absence of activity from those other communities, we figured it was OK to expand to include all the aspects of Marvel and MCU, and not be limited only to the Cap fandom.
How will art claims work?
Art will be presented in a slide document for authors' perusal. Each piece will be numbered and accompanied by additional information supplied by artists so authors will have plenty of time to peruse and choose their preferences.
Claims will open at a designated, non-negotiable time. Claims will be allocated first in, first served basis, with authors lodging timestamped claim forms. Claims will be allocated with the highest available preference at the time of the form lodgement.
It’s against both the rules and the spirit of the challenge to work with another participant prior to claims or to try and influence claims, or to try and influence other participants regarding claims in order to discourage others from claiming the art piece you are interested in. If we become aware of this behaviour, we may ask you to leave the challenge.
Can I claim more than one art piece?
No, only one claim is allowed per author.
How many rounds of claims are there?
Only one. We encourage authors who miss out on claims to sign up as pinch-hitters instead.
Can artists make more art for their author after claims?
Absolutely! There is no obligation for your artist to create additional art unless they wish to, but they certainly can if they want!
How does posting work?
Each author/artist team will be asked to nominate their preferred posting date, which will be their final deadline. Each team of author/artist is required to post on their assigned date to the platform of their choice. You can post any time on that date in your timezone.
The reason we have posting dates is so that we don't flood the fandom with 200 works at the same time. It's also our way of ensuring that only a few entries are posted per day, ensuring each collaboration is acknowledged and recognised, and that nobody gets lost in a big flood of fic and art.
It's also a way for the Mods to keep tabs on who is meant to be posting when, so if posting doesn't occur, we are prompted to come and look for you to see if you need assistance.
After posting your work to our AO3 collection and sharing it on your preferred social platforms, you will be asked to submit a Masterpost Information Form.
The info you give us will be used to create a Masterpost here on our comm, and also on Twitter. You are welcome to create a Tumblr masterpost yourselves - if you do, we will reblog it.
See Masterpost Info for more details.
I have another question!
Please email the Mods on caprbb at gmail dot com or by send us an Ask.
The Ask Box is screened so all answers will be private.
Thank you, the Mods